Man wrongly called paedophile after police typo

By Felicity Nethery| 2 years ago

Sometimes words can be misleading but in Nigel Lang’s case the wrong words ruined his life, after a typo by police had him wrongly accused of being a paedophile.

Lang was 44 and had a steady job that he loved when his life suddenly fell apart. He was arrested by police in 2011 on suspicion that he had been sharing indecent photos of children after a catastrophic police error, which was not uncovered until nearly a year later.

Despite his name being cleared after three weeks, the damage had already been done.

Now almost six years later, speaking with BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire, Lang admits the ordeal left him "paranoid". He reveals he remains unemployed and suffers ongoing mental health issues after his reputation was left "in tatters".

"Because of what happened I felt unable to go back into the field of work I was working in," Lang says. He had previously worked as a working as a drug recovery worker helping teenagers, which he describes as "the best job I'd had in my life" and something he was "really good at".

"But I became fearful of working with young females in case any of them said I tried any sexual advances. It made me paranoid."

Eleven months after his arrest, Lang began looking for answers. It was at this point he requested to know whether incorrect information had been supplied by Hertfordshire Police to South Yorkshire Police but he was told this was not possible "owing to the passage of time".

Lang subsequently hired a lawyer who uncovered the incorrect IP address had been passed on from Hertfordshire Police, which erroneously linked an account held by Lang's partner to one which had shared more than 100 indecent images of children.

It was revealed an extra digit had been added by mistake during the information transfer, wrongly pointed the finger at Lang.

In 2014, Nigel received an apology from Hertfordshire Police, which accepted responsibility for the error. He was also awarded damages of £60,000 plus legal costs from police last year.

However, he says the amount, less than two-and-a-half years wages, "isn't enough" as he has not worked since.

"But after six-and-a-half years of fighting, you're tired."

In a statement the Hertfordshire Police said they had "made an early admission of the mistake once it had been identified and would like to apologise again for the wrongful arrest and further impact caused".